Printable Mirror & Artwork Hanging Checklist (PDF)

The printable hanging checklist

A free one-page printable checklist for hanging mirrors and artwork — wall type, load maths, safe zones, height marking and the load test — plus the nine mistakes that crack walls.

By Sarbaz Hassan, FounderUpdated 12 August 20265 min read

Sarbaz founded Hello Services in 2019 and still runs the operation day to day, from pricing and crew standards to complaints. Every cost figure and checklist on the site is signed off against jobs our own teams have run.

Print this, tape it beside the wall and work down it. Every line is a decision people usually make by eye — wall type, fixing rating, safe zones, hook height — and getting each one right in order is the difference between a mirror that sits level for ten years and a repair job.

Progress: 0 of 40 ticked (0%) · 40 checks left · tick boxes: ☐ = to do, ☑ = done.

1. Before you buy a single fixing

Weigh the piece on bathroom scales, holding it and subtracting your own weight if it is awkward.
Write the weight on a sticky note and keep it with you — every fixing choice comes from this number.
Knock the wall: hollow drumming = plasterboard or lath; dull and dead = solid masonry.
Push a drawing pin in by thumb — it enters plasterboard, refuses on brick or block.
Check for dot-and-dab: hollow sound on an external or party wall usually means board dabbed onto blockwork.
Measure the wall area and note anything within 300 mm: sockets, switches, radiators, boxing-in.

2. Choose the fixing (halve every rating)

Work to roughly half the fixing's stated maximum load, never the headline figure.
Solid brick or block: 7 mm masonry plug with a 5 x 60 mm screw.
Plasterboard on studs: 5 x 60 mm woodscrew straight into the timber wherever possible.
Plasterboard, no stud, over 10 kg: metal spring toggle or self-drilling metal anchor.
Dot-and-dab: through-fixing (Corefix type) that reaches the blockwork behind the cavity.
Lath and plaster: fix into the lath timbers or a stud, never into plaster alone.
Anything over 25 kg: French cleat or two-plus fixings spread across studs.
Bathroom or damp room: stainless or zinc-plated screws and corrosion-resistant anchors.

3. Work out the height before you mark anything

Target centre of the piece at 145–152 cm from the finished floor.
Over furniture: leave a 15–25 cm gap between the furniture top and the frame bottom.
Hook height = floor-to-centre + (frame height ÷ 2) − hardware drop when taut.
Fit the D-rings or hardware to the frame first, then measure the distance between them.
Draw one light horizontal pencil line with a spirit level and mark both holes on it.
Step back and check the line against door heads, picture rails and window reveals.

4. Safety checks — do not skip

Scan with a detector in metal AND live-cable modes, in a cross pattern 30 cm around each mark.
Treat the 150 mm band below the ceiling and beside every internal corner as a cable route.
Treat the vertical and horizontal zones running from every socket and switch as live.
Extra care above and below kitchens and bathrooms, where pipework runs.
Safety glasses on before the drill spins; masking tape over tile to stop the bit skating.
If in any doubt about a reading, move the fixing rather than risking the hole.

5. Drill, fix and hang

Wrap tape round the bit at fixing length plus 10 mm and drill to depth, not by feel.
Hammer action ON for masonry, OFF for plasterboard, tile and lath.
Tape a folded envelope under the hole to catch the dust.
Plugs flush with the surface — not proud, not sunk.
Toggles fully deployed behind the board: tug the screw gently before loading it.
Leave 4–5 mm of screw head standing proud so the D-ring seats on the shank.
Two people for anything over 15 kg; lift with the glass face towards you.
Seat both rings, then level by adjusting one hook rather than tilting the frame.

6. Final checks before you tidy up

Press firmly down on the top edge with your palm and listen for creaking or movement.
Check level across the top with a spirit level, not by eye.
Fit self-adhesive rubber bumpers to the bottom corners to stop marking and drifting.
Re-check level after 24 hours — settling reveals an under-rated fixing early.
Photograph the fixing positions before the piece goes back on, for future reference.
Stop and call a professional for: over 40 kg, glass over head height, stairwells, or any wall you cannot identify.

Completed 0 of 40 (0%) · 40 left to do · Hello Services · 020 8124 1823 · Free fixed-price quotes at helloservices.co.uk/quote

The failures we are called out to fix most often, and what to do instead.
Mistake	What happens	Do this instead
Using the fixings supplied in the box	Generic plugs sized for a wall you do not have	Buy fixings for your wall and load
Hammer-drilling plasterboard	A ragged hole no anchor can grip	Hammer off until you reach masonry
One central hook on a wide frame	The frame drifts out of level constantly	Two D-rings at one third from each side
Hanging at 170 cm to 'fill the wall'	Piece floats above eye line, room feels cold	Centre at 145–152 cm
Ignoring the dot-and-dab cavity	The board tears away from the blockwork	Through-fix to the masonry behind
Trusting adhesive strips with glass	Failure is sudden and cuts	Drill anything that can break
Drilling above a socket	Cable strike in the vertical safe zone	Move 100 mm sideways and rescan
Skipping the load test	The failure happens later, unattended	Palm-press the top edge before you walk away
Hanging a heavy mirror above a bed	Serious injury risk if anything gives	Use light framed prints or canvas

The failures we are called out to fix most often, and what to do instead.

Mistake

What happens

Do this instead

Using the fixings supplied in the box

Generic plugs sized for a wall you do not have

Buy fixings for your wall and load

Hammer-drilling plasterboard

A ragged hole no anchor can grip

Hammer off until you reach masonry

One central hook on a wide frame

The frame drifts out of level constantly

Two D-rings at one third from each side

Hanging at 170 cm to 'fill the wall'

Piece floats above eye line, room feels cold

Centre at 145–152 cm

Ignoring the dot-and-dab cavity

The board tears away from the blockwork

Through-fix to the masonry behind

Trusting adhesive strips with glass

Failure is sudden and cuts

Drill anything that can break

Drilling above a socket

Cable strike in the vertical safe zone

Move 100 mm sideways and rescan

Skipping the load test

The failure happens later, unattended

Palm-press the top edge before you walk away

Hanging a heavy mirror above a bed

Serious injury risk if anything gives

Use light framed prints or canvas

The printable hanging checklist

Printable hanging checklist (free PDF)

Mirror & Artwork Hanging Checklist (Free Printable PDF)

1. Before you buy a single fixing

2. Choose the fixing (halve every rating)

3. Work out the height before you mark anything

4. Safety checks — do not skip

5. Drill, fix and hang

6. Final checks before you tidy up

Checklist questions: spacing, drilling and common mistakes

Nine mistakes that crack walls and drop mirrors

More from this guide

Printable hanging checklist (free PDF)

1. Before you buy a single fixing

2. Choose the fixing (halve every rating)

3. Work out the height before you mark anything

4. Safety checks — do not skip

5. Drill, fix and hang

6. Final checks before you tidy up

Checklist questions: spacing, drilling and common mistakes

What spacing should I use between two fixings?

How far apart should frames sit on a gallery wall?

How deep should I drill, and how do I stop the bit wandering?

Where is it not safe to drill?

What are the most common mistakes this checklist prevents?

How do I know the fixing actually holds before I trust it?

Do I need to print the checklist, or can I use it on a phone?

Nine mistakes that crack walls and drop mirrors

More from this guide